As associate editor of ForbesLife, I cover fashion, fine arts and philanthropy—mostly through an anthropological lens. Enroute to Forbes I spent a summer at NBC, produced a video for the Committee To Protect Journalists and briefly dabbled in fine art acquisitions. I also have a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia University.

Why Jessica Chastain's Oscar Dress Looked Stunning On The Red Carpet But Flat On Your Television

To appreciate the brilliance of Jessica Chastain’s red-carpet turn at the Oscars, you kind of had to be there.

The actress, nominated for a standout supporting performance in The Help, donned a strapless Alexander McQueen gown, its surface serving as a black canvas for the gold embroidery that washed over it.

Most applauded the classic look and elegant styling but critics howled that the dress was a “goth gown [featuring] a mess of appliqués” and more evoking of “upholstery” than artistry.

I, like many of you, watched the Academy Awards not from the red-carpet sidelines but from the comfort of my decidedly non-VIP living room couch. When Jessica Chastain’s getup first appeared on my flat screen, it appeared, well, flat—that is until the camera man went in for a close up. That’s when the magic happened.

Like most Alexander McQueen couture, Chastain’s ensemble was a veritable work of art, made with the finest fabrics, sharp tailoring and hours upon hours of hand beading. And just as with any fine painting, one can’t appreciate the full effect of great art unless given the opportunity to study the brushstrokes and texture in person, up close, from many different angles (print of Monet painting in an art history textbook vs. standing in front of Water Lilies at the Met). Same goes for haute couture.

Luckily, a two-second zoom of Chastain’s incredibly sumptuous gown gave viewers a brief sampling of its true substance. The beading stood three dimensional, the curlicues flashed in the afternoon light and the full weight of the dress shone.

That was just a brief moment on television. I can only imagine how beautiful it was in real life.

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Good point and great piece. Even *I* like that dress. But my guilty habit of watching the Rachel Zoe Project on my spinning bike begs a question: Do they actually “camera test” red carpet dresses? It’s great to have a tactile dress that’s stunning in person–were they hoping Isaac Mizrahi might paw it, Scarlett Johannson-style?– but the goal is for it to be equally appealing on HD TV. Or maybe the real goal is to have a marginally controversial dress that many people like, a few people hate and everyone but everyone is talking about. If that’s the case, Chastain’s stylist Elizabeth Stewart earned her money big time.

I think this dress was stunning on many levels. It was a stand out, not for being off the wall or wacky, but for being a classic beautiful dress, in a culture where embroidery is lost art. What really makes it stand out, is Jessica Chastain. She chose to display her dress and not her body parts. BRAVO!

Lori, you’re right–Jessica Chastain herself is her own best special effect. She has a flawless porcelain complexion, great hair and an elegant bearing in general. You can never go wrong with classic and simple.

Hi Allen! Love that you follow fashion, Rachel Zoe or no and surprised you employ a spinning bike when you’ve got Miss Tessie ;)

You bring up a great point and I should have clarified that I did feel Jessica Chastain’s dress looked gorgeous on screen, just flatter than most McQueen dresses I’ve seen via television. That tends to happen with heavy embroidery and beading–a lot of the punch is lost on a wide shot. McQueen especially deserves to be seen up close if possible, beading or no beading.

I’d imagine most stylists would take dresses through a camera test or they’d at least come to the table with knowledge of what fabrics eat light, are slimming, etc. At the same time a lot of old-school couture designers aren’t so interested in how pieces show on HDTV and when you see a dress you love, it’s hard to pass it over for something else. This could easily be the case here.

Really great point! This TV versus real life conundrum applied to several others this year including Michelle Williams’ Louis Vuitton dress which looked red on screen but was apparently a burnt orange/coral.

I’m not a fashion expert, but Jessica Chastain often looks “hippy” and her dress choices usually are not the most flattering for her body type. She also goes with “nude” colors which are trendy right now, but any fair-skinned girl, especially redheads, will tell you that they look terrible in. I don’t agree with many of Stewart’s choices for JC.